Roulette Rules – How to Start Playing for Real Money

  • Wednesday, Apr 15, 2020

Ready to start spinning the wheel? You’ve come to the right place. In this section of this roulette online guide, we’ll be taking a closer look at all rules and all the little details that make roulette such a thrilling game.

Online casino roulette rules are fairly straightforward. That said, you need to remember that besides being a game of chance, roulette requires a lot of skill. You need to know the game well, to eventually be able to develop a winning strategy.

Please keep on reading to learn more about roulette casino rules.

roulette table, chips and wheel

Roulette Background and History

Did you know that roulette has been around for more than 300 years? What’s even more remarkable is that as luck would have it, it was developed by chance. The highly skilled mathematician, scientist and philosopher, Blaise Pascal, was the brains behind the first forms of the game in the year 1675. The real intention behind his invention, was to create a perpetual motion machine, but alas, luck had other plans.

Additionally, other forms of roulette were found in more parts of Europe. Roly-Poly was quite popular in England, as well as Reiner, and Ace of Hearts. Similarly, Italians dabbled with Hoca and Biribi. At the time, there was also another French board game called Roulette. Together, all games contributed to the version we’re familiar with nowadays.

Roulette truly gained popularity in Paris during the year 1796. Interestingly, author Jacques Lablee describes the game’s current form, in his book La Roulette, ou le Jour. He describes roulette being played at Paris’ prestigious Palais Royal; There are exactly two slots reserved for the bank, whence it derives its sole mathematical advantage.. He also refers to the layout which he describes as …two betting spaces containing the bank’s two numbers, zero and double zero.

The Roulette Wheel

Roulette got its name from the English phrase little wheel. Over time, roulette was given more interesting nicknames including, The Devil’s Game. This was due to the fact that all the numbers on the wheel amounted to 666, a number which of course, is regarded as the mark of the beast.

The roulette wheel underwent many changes until maintained the layout and roulette rules it has today. If we look at Paris’ roulette wheels in the late 1970s, the zero and double zero pockets were respectively, red black . By the 1800s, these were changed to green to avoid any confusion.

By 1843, François and Louis Blanc, introduced the single 0 version of roulette – in other words, European roulette. At the time, the two Frenchmen wanted to raise the stakes in the German casino town of Bad Homburg. What better way to do that than by introducing a new version with more favorable odds for the players? Genius!

If we take a closer look at the American wheel, the first forms of roulette started with a sequence of numbers 1 to 28, a single 0, a double zero and what was once known as the American Eagle. The latter, which was a symbol of American liberty, represented the casino’s extra house edge. Eventually, the Eagle was removed from the wheel and was left with the 0 and 00 pockets, as we know it nowadays.

How to Play Roulette

Let us now take a closer look at the basics of roulette rules. As we’ve mentioned previously, the rules are pretty straightforward. But mastering them holds the key to win. Both land-based roulette and online roulette follow the same rules, so everything mentioned here can be applied to both types of roulette casinos. Without further ado, onto the roulette rules!

You have one goal here – to get the ball to land on your chosen bet. As the ball lands on the wheel, it needs to land on either a black or red compartment. Here’s a tip; If you really want to look like a pro when playing with other casino players, keep in mind that these compartments are called pockets. Additionally, when it’s time to place your bets, you need to use roulette chips.

As soon as the ball lands on a pocket, the croupier, who is also known as the dealer, will declare the winning number with a casino device known as the dolly. At this stage of the game, it’s important to remember a couple more roulette rules. No players can place or remove bets and neither collect them from the roulette table. Winners are only permitted to collect their earnings once all winning and losing bets are established by the dealer. As soon as everything is in order, a new round can commence. Easy enough, right?

Understanding Roulette Bets

Now that you know the roulette rules, it’s time to get technical. What’s a straight up bet? What’s a corner bet? What you need to understand first, is that there are mainly two types of bets: Inside and Outside bets.

These are then broken down into more bets. If you’re only a beginner, you don’t need to know every single bet in the book, but it’s good to have some insight about them. Below, we’ve listed some of the most common ones you’re likely to chip in.

INSIDE BETS: Straight up, Split, Street, Corner, Six Lines

OUTSIDE BETS: Column, Dozen, Low/High, Even/Odd, High/Low

If you’d like a more detailed description about each of the bets, please head back to our full roulette guide.

What Games can you Play?

You know the basics; you have a better understanding of roulette rules and bets…we think it’s almost time to get the ball rolling! So, what kinds of games can you play?

As a general rule, there are three types of roulette: American, English and French. As we’ve explained in previous sections of this guide, all of these have their own roulette rules. The fundamentals are the same, but there are a few tweaks here and there.

Starting off with American roulette, this wheel has 38 pockets: 18 black and 18 red, along with two green pockets for the 0 and 00. Taking this into consideration, American roulette tends to favor the casino, due to the fact that this isn’t single zero roulette and the house edge is approximately 5.26%. While the payouts are larger here, it’s best to get some practice first.

If we look at European roulette and French roulette, these two are very similar to each other. There are 37 pockets, with a single 0 and numbers 1-37. In this case, European roulette tends to have more favorable odds for the player since its house edge is around 2.70%. While it pays a smaller payout than American roulette, you still have a better chance to win. Definitely test the waters with this version first.

In French roulette, the La Partage rule makes all the difference. In this case, you can win your total stake back if you only place even bets and the ball lands on 0.

Roulette game variations

All the best roulette casinos offer multiple versions of table games, including casino classics like blackjack, poker and baccarat. Roulette is no exception.

Besides the standard versions of roulette, you’ll also find more enticing versions of the game, including Multi-Ball Roulette, Double-Wheel Roulette, Lightning Roulette and Live Dealer Roulette. All of these games follow more or less the same roulette rules, with a few minor differences.

The betting environment is the same – chips are used to place bets, the dealer pays out bets at the and of each round…you get the picture. But In this case, you can spin two wheels, drop up to three balls, interact with the dealer in a fully immersive environment…the list is endless! Some roulette games also come with bonus spins, bigger payouts and even more exciting features. If you want our recommendation, definitely check out what’s on offer at your chosen roulette casino.

Free Online Roulette

If you’re not sure where to begin, why not give free roulette a go? You will find free versions of the game at the best roulette casinos. You’re free to play without real money to test them out, get used to the roulette rules and then play for real money. What’s more is that some roulette casinos offer bonus codes for specific games, so keep your eyes peeled for that.

Roulette Strategy

Once you fully familiarize yourself with the rules of the game, you need to develop a strategy. Mastering the science of the game is part of a basic roulette strategy. It’s also important to know when to stop betting.

That said, there are also advanced roulette strategies that can help better your chances as you chip in. Our roulette strategies guide will give you a better understanding of some of the most popular techniques that have proven to be effective, including the Martingale Strategy, the D’Alembert Strategy and the James Bond Strategy.